Prishtina, 19 December, 2022
The complete speech of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, at the 6th Ambassadors’ conference:
Dear President of the Republic of Kosovo, Mrs. Vjosa Osmani Sadriu,
Honorable Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs. Donika Gërvalla Schwarz,
Dear Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi,
Dear Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Saranda Bogujvci,
Dear Ministers and Deputy Ministers of the Government Cabinet,
Dear members of the Assembly of the Republic,
Dear ambassadors and representatives of the Republic,
Ladies and gentleman,
Dear attendees,
As for any other country, the main foreign policy instruments for our country are diplomacy, economy and defense. It is up to diplomacy to integrate all possible instruments and fields into its work. Through the integration of these fields, channels can be created in which we can communicate truth and justice.
It is up to you to say how we know our truth. You are present in the everyday life of the places where you operate. Everyday life where you are should be analyzed according to individuals, professions and their institutions. We must fearlessly convey to them “our knowledge of history” and “our information about current affairs”. They know their Balkans, we have to explain ours to them. The Balkans where our northern neighbor is attacking its three neighboring countries in every possible way, giving a great deal of help to Russia and being helped by it. Academic, intellectual, university and media circles, for curiosity, research and career expansion are ready to listen. The pseudo-scientific and diplomatic propaganda of our northern neighbor have imposed a date of the “beginning of history”, be it the 18th century or the 14th century, always history according to them, saying that before them there was neither history, nor time, nor peoples, because it has benefited from the very small number of our people in universities in the democratic west. They have been so calm due to our absence, that in many places where you are, the primitive illusion has taken hold, as you know by yourself, that with the necessary sacrifices of other peoples, including the Albanians, the Serbian god, the “god” in quote, deputy of the god, always in Russian quotes in the Balkans. Never mind that the mindset of 1913, in the words of Sir Edward Gray: an injustice was done but a war was avoided, is gone. The countries we are dealing with, always have extreme policies, precisely when we are on the horizon of war, which also reappeared in Europe. Precisely in this year, which we are slowly closing. So let’s remember 1913. Although Gray thought he averted the war by sacrificing Albanian territories, a few months’ later Serbian nationalists assassinated the Archduke of Austria-Hungary in Sarajevo and the Great War involved the world. The sacrifice was not accepted, its opponents were killed.
Today we have a much higher state measure in our state and society, the people of our nation, so if we all show determination in our daily work, we are incomparably stronger.
The Serbian “god” (this god is always in quotation marks) has not been satisfied with the partial sacrifice offered to him by the democratic West because he considers himself the son of the Russian “god”. And just like Peter the Great who took from the West everything he needed to use later for the subjugation of all of Europe to Russia, so Serbia receives from the West the partial sacrifices and everything it needs for the subjugation of the entire Balkans to Serbia. Only with this complete sacrifice can the Serbian “God” feel at peace with himself. Of course, during the 20th century, Serbia happened twice on the side of Western civilization, but do you know why? Only because Russia itself was lined up there. For real alignment in western democratic civilization, Serbia does not need the sacrifice of the Balkan peoples, but for its internal democratization.
Over the centuries, Serbia may have received many technologies, goods, industries and weapons, but never the foundation of Western civilization: democracy and human freedoms as the foundation of that civilization’s production, trade, politics and way of life. And just like throughout the 20th century, neither the sacrifice of the full nationalization of the Republic of Kosovo at the beginning of this century satisfies the Serbian “god”, nor does it rank Serbia right next to Western civilization. To hide its lack of civilization, it accuses Albanians of being Muslims.
Dear ambassadors and representatives of the Republic of Kosovo,
With what I said above, I just want to draw attention to the fact that geopolitics is not only material, but also a product of what is called the “mental map” or “cognitive map” of Europe.
You are realizing that the government and society, the state and the people believe and expect a lot from you, always together. You are the most special media of the state of Kosovo and of the element of our people in the world. You have many rights, above all the use of your skills. Being in a foreign country, with your immunity, you can meet every constituent element of the geopolitics and Eco politics of the host country.
We have to do with details battle to be in the daily market of their discourse. We must ground our subject in their truth. That is why we need employees of their offices and institutes, businessmen, members of civil society and university professors. A large part of their civil society focuses on the central topics of Kosovo’s political history and international justice. We must list these people, find them and meet them. You are our media, because through you we increase the number of people who speak about the state of Kosovo and its rights.
We have an existential enemy that makes a lot of noise, which always uses a hybrid position in the historical and geopolitical order. Belgrade plays with the pro-Serb and pro-Yugoslav political spectrum to win over the extremes of the Western countries. With the extreme left Belgrade wins with the idea of Yugoslavia, with the extreme right it wins with the idea of Serbia defending Christianity.
Geopolitically, this great adversary of ours promises all Westerners, but stands with the Russians to the death and plays with China’s duplicity. Serbia cannot easily betray Russia without undergoing a radical transformation. Because it sees itself as a project of Slavic conquest over the centuries. We must say these two things carefully and patiently to the Westerners we know and meet. It is enough to put it in their minds and they will check the truth themselves then. It is enough to show them that their extremes are further away from Kosovo, and they will understand that the left center and right center have many, many reasons to protect Kosovo and never express sympathy for Serbia. We must present to them the arguments against their extremes, the extremes in their countries. We must tell them that the former Yugoslavia as a platform for Greater Serbia, this former leader of the non-aligned countries, was built entirely on the violence of the Albanians. And giving them figures, and give them articles, and give them books. And then let’s tell him that this dream showed him what sacrifice was built on. Therefore, its digestion produced four wars and that great amount of crime and genocide.
We must tell them that today the same people are in the highest positions at the head of Serbia, we must tell them that those who yesterday were war criminals, today are members of cartels, that the punishment of criminals was generally a bubble, which has already exploded without being noticed with the murder of the man, who to some extent wanted to change Serbia: Djindjic/Gjingjiq. The reality is not the yellow house, but the murdered Djindjic/Gjingjiq. It is not the Serbs who were violated in Kosovo by the state of Kosovo, but Oliver Ivanović himself, who was killed by the Serbian criminal structures. Their paroled criminals are being re-arrested as drug cartel criminals.
Statistics are very important. A document can be produced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, which we distribute together to the media, civil society, and influential people, especially in university circles. In those statistics, the number of Serbs who have been punished for the crimes they have committed should be shown, the number is even less than modest. We must talk to them about the state of Kosovo, as the most democratic state in the Western Balkans. Our achievements in the fight against corruption and media freedom must be clearly stated, as well as these together with our impressive economic growth.
Westerners who are our allies, partners and friends do not necessarily know, for example, the decision of the International Court of Justice on the independence of the state of Kosovo. Most of the people who work in the media and in European offices are of another generation now. They will hear something older than the decision of the International Court of Justice, instead of three letters ICJ, they will more likely find four numbers, 1244, because Serbian officials will say it everywhere.
You certainly follow the visual and written media in the countries where you serve. We should not hesitate to send protest notes when it comes to fraud in their news. If they see that we oppose them when they fabricate fake news, they will respect us and seek regular connections with our institutions, first and foremost with you.
We must also talk to you about the Valley and about Sandžak and show you that it is not us who do violence to the Serbs, but Belgrade, and even more to send you information about the bureaucratic ethnic cleansing that is happening in Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanoc with the disappearance of addresses. Perhaps you would find their own journalists who would raise this issue in their opinions. Tell us about the fear and blackmail that our fellow citizens, the Serbs in Kosovo, are under, precisely from the illegal structures in Belgrade that have recently turned into criminal gangs without exception.
Help each other with links and information. Communicate and coordinate with each other. It is not the first time that we do such a thing. The entire decade of the 90s, where most of us, if not all of us, were shaped politically, was such a struggle. Ask for help from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora for all the problems and difficulties you encounter.
We have come to government with two main promises, with a great democratic change, with promises to our citizens for justice and employment. In the first, you are working on the inside, and in the second, you have to work on the outside as well. So, a diplomacy that is also economic diplomacy. So bringing new investments, so employment. The number one factor preventing citizens from enjoying a higher sense of well-being in our country is the still insufficient performance of the private sector, meaning the real economy, not an economy that depends on public procurement or the retail sale of imported goods.
It all starts with the growth of the real economy. When there is growth in a greater number of private companies, and not just those with monopolistic tendencies, there will be increased investment and valuable employment. Also, with a faster and greater circulation of money in our economy, people will feel more secure and hopeful about their financial situation now and in the future. In parallel, a growing real economy means more tax revenue for the state, which the state can then distribute wisely to achieve the ultimate goal we all have here – to improve the well-being of our citizens, officials ours, for our foreign service. Without the growth of the private sector, none of what I said will be possible.
The idea is to move towards the organization of foreign visits and missions from abroad to Kosovo – around industries and sectors, e.g. eventually moving from investment and trade missions of a foreign country with a number of companies representing a number of sectors to visits of companies of several countries, but from a single industry or sector. For example, in the 4th week of September, we can organize the Traditional Annual Conference of Information and Communication Technology, since the ICT week in Kosovo is also traditionally organized that week.
The Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister is coordinating with ministries, business associations and relevant international organizations in the country to develop a joint plan for the promotion of foreign investment and our export for 2023, and these can be disclosed to them he personally during these three days, for which I also encourage you to consult. Again, the aim is to integrate, consolidate and coordinate our efforts, and for me as Prime Minister to make the most of my time to meet with potential investors and prospective exporters, so that the environment for doing business in Kosovo to become as soon as possible among the most competitive in the region and not only, for each person.
I believe that in addition to your work for the promotion of our political positions, half of your time should be used for the promotion of investments from the countries where you serve to Kosovo, as well as the promotion and increase of Kosovar exports to those countries where you serve. Meanwhile, we must cooperate closely in determining the factors that then enable us to determine Key Performance Indicators in relation to this aspect of your engagement as diplomats.
I am sincerely and eternally grateful for the extraordinary work, for the unsparing commitment, for the indisputable role and for the immeasurable contribution that you have made, are making, and will make.
Last modified: December 20, 2022